Germany spent €80 million on land border checks since last September

Germany has spent a total of €80.5 million ($94 million) on land border controls from their introduction in mid-September 2024 through the end of June this year, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday.

The figures were provided by the ministry following a parliamentary request by Left Party lawmaker Clara Bünger and then shared with dpa.

The costs for deploying the federal police along Germany's borders with its neighbouring countries ranged between €24 million and €29.1 million per quarter.

From April to the end of June 2025, the federal government spent about €8 million on officer meals and hotel accommodation.

Almost €3 million went toward allowances for "duty at inconvenient times," €2.6 million was allocated to "command and operational resources," and nearly €2 million covered the operation of border stations.

The largest expense by far was overtime pay, totalling €37.9 million in additional operational costs between September 2024 and June 2025.

Checks along all of Germany's land borders were introduced in September 2024 as a temporary measure. Since then, they have been extended multiple times.

Under the normal rules of Europe's Schengen free-travel zone, land border controls are not permitted. Berlin justified the move as a means to curb irregular migration and to protect against Islamist terrorism and cross-border crime.

The controls were further tightened in May, when Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative-led government took office.